New Delhi: In a significant move to bolster transparency in India’s healthcare sector, the government has rolled out standardised billing formats for hospitals, aiming to empower patients and curb billing disputes.
Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi, unveiled the new Indian Standard ‘IS 19493: 2025’ on National Consumer Day, mandating item-wise breakdowns in all medical bills.
This reform, applicable to hospitals, nursing homes, and diagnostic centres across the country, requires detailed listings of charges, including room rent, doctor consultations, medicines, and treatment packages. Bills must now be presented in clear, readable fonts and made available in both digital and physical formats, ensuring ease of understanding for patients.
Prepared by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the initiative addresses longstanding grievances where opaque billing practices often led to confusion and mistrust. The standard stipulates that bills include patient identification, a summary of fees, itemised services, taxes, insurance coverage, payment modes, and authorisations. Healthcare providers can easily adopt these sample formats.
Experts from premier institutions like AIIMS, DGHS, NABH, and CII contributed to the BIS’s Health, Fitness and Sports Services Sectional Committee, which crafted this requirement after extensive deliberations. Officials believe this will foster accountability, reduce complaints, and build a patient-centric healthcare ecosystem.
By eliminating inconsistencies in billing, the government hopes to strengthen trust between hospitals and patients, enabling informed decisions and fewer disputes. This step marks a pivotal stride towards a more transparent and equitable health system in India.